Our Ideas | VerticalWave Web & Mobile Development

Drupal is without doubt one of the most versatile content management systems on the market when it comes to handle large content and user databases. B2B and B2C companies often look to convert such data, as well as website user engagement into leads and potential customers. This is where Drupal CRM Integration comes in extremely handy. Pairing Drupal with an optimally tailored CRM provides excellent business automation, allowing companies collect and manage crucial data and thus ensuring a better ROI.

Drupal can be integrated with various available CRMs, including the most popular ones such as SalesForce and Microsoft Dynamics. However, these CRM systems provide less flexibility and additional coding, as well as third party support might be required to ensure optimal implementation.

On the other hand, there are a few Customer Relationship Management systems that work almost “out of the box” when integrated with Drupal 7 and 8. This seamless integration is provided via dedicated modules and APIs, as well as custom codes, and widely supported by the Drupal developers’ community.

A successful integration creates a link between the two systems, ensuring successful field mapping, data transfer and management. Drupal can gather and send data collected through webforms or through user analysis in real time to the CRM to maximize marketing efficiency. To a certain extent, we can say that the outcome is a powerful 2 in 1 content management and marketing platform.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common CRM solutions that work best when paired with Drupal:

• First we have Drupal’s native CRM module, which can handle contacts and form management and requires little coding to set up. The advantage when using Drupal’s own CRM system is that it can actively be updated and maintained with little cost. No third party hosting or configuration is involved when using it.
• RedHen is another CRM that offers native Drupal integration. It offers lots of customizable features and is mostly used to track the interaction with people and institutions. Its flexibility makes it suitable for various business models.
• CiviCRM is an open source constituent relationship management solution best used to track webform input, online subscription, contacts and more. Designed initially for non-profit and non-governmental entities, CiviCRM can also be set to accommodate B2B and B2C companies.
• Zoho CRM is comprised of a powerful suite of business tools, highly scalable, designed to cover a wide array of features needed to enhance the marketing process. It uses an automated system to gather, keep track and assign leads and analyze product demand, customer data, as well as the entire sales process if needed.

As said, these CRM systems offer reliable integration with Drupal and provide lots of flexibility. However, implementing the best suited solution for a specific company or organization requires a careful analysis to highlight particular needs, depending on the business and organizational model.

The VerticalWave Solutions team is proud to announce the launch of E-Mentoring Halton, a new generation type of collaboration platform, dedicated to provide online mentoring partnerships for residents of Halton Region. It is a complex program, designed to bridge the gap between established professionals and professionals immigrating to the Region of Halton in occupational-specific mentoring relationships. Moreover, the platform is engineered to facilitate communication between program participants, across the world at any time zone.

This is a scalable system, tailored to put the most efficient collaboration, communication and sharing tools at the fingertips of e-Mentors and e-Mentees. The challenge was to merge all functionality features with an intuitive and easy to use design for the end-user and for system administrators.

Using the powerful Drupal CMS, our team successfully implemented a wide variety of functional features and a modern responsive design, combining state of the art mobile and desktop UI and UX into an interactive and secure specialty platform.

E-Mentoring Halton boasts an innovative resource sharing system, which provides users with access to documents, videos, links and notes. Users have the possibility to communicate via comments or the integrated instant messaging system. At the same time they can schedule meetings and calls to enhance their collaboration and reach the end goal easier, while a built-in notification system alerts users and administrators of various activities via email.

System administrators can easily designate groups and associate users with them and create specific modules, tasks and evaluations for each group and user. Moreover, the content and user management system is designed to provide easy admin access to all resources and user accounts. Administrators control the back-end and entire collaboration system in a very straight-forward way to ensure the lowest interaction latency time possible.

As said, the E-Mentoring Halton platform is based on custom functionalities and employs many features, but using the latest Drupal 7 installment, combined with custom built modules, a clean and well-structured programming code and a solid database system, our team has delivered a modern, customizable and reliable solution for the client.

Part of the Ontarian set of laws intended to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, the AODA – Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act adopted back in 2005 is intended to implement and enforce accessibility standards for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to everyday life aspects like goods, services, employment, accommodation, healthcare, facilities, transport and more kh0csxv.

The act eliminates what is called a barrier in terms of technology, information, communication and more for people with mental or physical disabilities. The Act is a major step forward in the history of fighting against discrimination of persons with disabilities in Ontario, therefore supported by individuals, as well as by government entities and companies alike.

The AODA sets of rules and standards concern the internet perhaps more than anything else. Ontario based websites need to comply with these regulations or are susceptible to penalties that can even escalate to lawsuits. The Act clearly specifies that government entities, public sector organizations, enterprises and related businesses must align their websites and web applications with the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, intended to make website browsing and content access easily available to people with different levels of disabilities, from cognitive limitations to physical impairment.

AODA complaint websites will become the standard in the upcoming years, as the Act’s rules and regulations must be fully adopted and implemented by 2025, as stipulated by the law. However, implementing the necessary accessibility features requires both analysis and development to ensure correct design and functionality and a win-win outcome for visitors and users as well as for website and web apps operators and owners.

The most common implementation of the AODA compliance for web projects is based on the technical standard WCAG 2.0 levels:

• Level A (lowest), which implies a logical app/site structure, audio control, keyboard access, text alternative for non-text content, responsible use of colors, video and audio captions and more

• Level AA (intermediate), which implies live captions, audio alternative to text, text resizing options, sensitive data secured management, pre-set contrast ratio, use of clear and accessible icons, links and buttons, and more

• Level AAA (advanced), which implies translations, media alternatives, intuitive visual layout, keyboard accessibility, location and geo-location services, optimal readability level, help and instruction regarding site browsing and functionality and more

At VerticalWave Solutions we support the AODA and work close with our clients to implement intuitive and correct accessibility features across all the websites, apps and platforms we develop. This is a complex process, starting with website/app/project audit and continuing with responsible research and development to reach the end goal. Our Drupal projects integrate modern UI and UX with intuitive accessibility features. A close focus on design and functionality on both mobile and desktop platforms ensures a successful project delivery and seamless integration with the AODA rules and regulations.

Text resizing, text to speech, full featured content, accurate search, responsive and adaptive design, mobile friendly interface, quick access buttons, media integration, intuitive menus are just a few of the required accessibility features we successfully implemented for important clients like The C.D. Howe Institute, GREO – Gambling Research Exchange Ontario, YouthREX, <a href="https://verticalhq find more info.ca/portfolio_item/the-homeless-hub”>The Homeless Hub and more.  All of our clients’ websites and apps are fully comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act as required for an optimal web experience.

The Vertical Wave Solutions team is proud to announce the launch of C.D. Howe Institute’s new website. With the mission to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies, the C.D. Howe Institute is a prestigious, independent not-for-profit research organization, considered by many to be Canada’s most influential think tank.

According to the Institute’s requirements, our VerticalWave Solutions team migrated the original website content from an old platform to Drupal CMS, created a fresh and modern look for the new website, as well as improved the administration and content management procedures for the client. The challenge was to create a new, visually appealing website, rich in features and easy to manage, while staying true to CD Howe Institute’s brand and substance. Our team successfully delivered a website that met all these principles.

The new website features a modern, responsive design, which renders perfectly on desktops, laptops and mobile devices, boasting a user friendly front end interface which makes browsing simple and intuitive, and provides fast access to content. The C.D Howe Institute website now integrates complex features like subscription system, advanced search, structured library, event management platform, third party service integration, dynamic featured content and more.

Backed up by a user-oriented and easy to use back-end administration system, as well as by an organized structure, the site can be easily managed without advanced technical skills. We are proud to have put technology in the right form, right at our client’s finger tips.

VerticalWave Solutions also provides ongoing support and maintenance for C.D. Howe.

Considered the ‘next gen’ of web development, MEAN Stack represents a collection of technologies that merge together perfectly in order to offer a a full-stack JavaScript implementation of web applications. Mean Stack consists of MongoDB, Express, AngularJS, and Node.js, hence the acronym MEAN.

These combined technologies allow for easy, intuitive and efficient development of scalable, user-friendly web applications which offer a new level of performance and reliability for the end user. And the flexibility and ease of use make MEAN Stack a powerful competitor against proven archetypal web service solution stacks such as LAMP. Comprised of Linux operating system, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL and PHP programming language, LAMP is still powerful, but starts losing ground in front of the MEAN newcomer.

And there are a few good reasons why MEAN Stack has the upper hand over LAMP in some particular areas. MongoDB is cloud-ready and offers reliable support and automatic replication over the cluster of servers, compared with MySQL, which might provide a strong relational database, but it’s a bit more restrictive, requiring data to be pushed into tables.

Another advantage of the new MEAN Stack is that Node.js simplifies the server layer. It does the work with some JavaScript and having everything in one layer prevents confusion and minimizes the occurrence of bugs. LAMP features multiple layers of navigation with various configuration files and differing syntax, which all combined can make a developer’s work quite difficult at times. Another advantage of Node.js is that it is faster, which makes it perfect for mobile apps.

AngularJS is another advantage of MEAN Stack. It adds consistency and stability by anointing one client framework, by allowing easy migration of code between content management systems and by allowing the coder work without hassle on the client’s side. LAMP benefits from solid PHP-based frameworks that work with MySQL, but has nothing to offer close to AngularJS.

Part of the developer community considers that LAMP might become obsolete in the near future. It’s not the case yet, as LAMP is still a reliable ‘player’, which has proven its efficiency over the years, but MEAN Stack is definitely a new, innovative, cutting-edge technology package that will most likely conquer the market soon.

Benefitting from a large support community, Drupal is one of the most widely used content management systems today. It is the perfect CMS for personal, corporate or government sites and has multiple uses, from simple presentation websites to custom community or e-commerce platforms. Drupal is intuitive, highly secure, SEO-friendly, mobile-friendly, easy to integrate with existing code and more.

One of the major advantages of using Drupal as your content management system is that it can adapt to virtually any browser and operating system without hassle. It saves you time and money when it comes to render your site’s content on all popular browsers like Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera and on the widely used Windows, MacOS and Linux OS platforms. It also works perfectly on less known and used browsers and operating systems.

The great thing about Drupal is that it is backwards compatible. That means that it can easily adapt to previous versions of a particular browser or OS. Other CMSs have the same feature too, but their compatibility can be limited and require longer development time to adapt to older OS and browser versions. On the other hand, Drupal offers a perfect browsing experience (both in terms of graphics and functionality) with just minor tweaks.

It is always recommended to use the latest OS and browser version available, but many users ignore this recommendation. The use the systems they are accustomed with their favorite plugins to or are not interesting in upgrading. This is why Drupal comes in handy and helps you reach a wider audience. And remember that Drupal offers a superior and user-friendly browsing experience on mobile devices running Android and iOS too.

As Drupal is one of the most versatile content management systems today, it is widely used for corporate, e-commerce, government and a wide range of other projects and sites. Drupal is a highly secure, highly scalable CMS which empowers web presence for a multitude of projects.

Flexibility, easy administration, possibility to integrate with existent and future modules and pieces of code, intelligent web publishing, mobile friendliness, huge support community and multilingual capabilities are just a few of the features that make Drupal such a popular and widely used CMS.

Let’s take a look at who uses Drupal:
– The White House: www.whitehouse.gov
– The Economist: www.economist.com
– Oxfam: www.oxfam.org
– The French Government: www.gouvernement.fr
– Eric Clapton: www.ericclapton.com
– Fujifilm: www.fujifilm.com
– The British Government: www.direct.gov.uk
– The Louvre Museum: www.louvre.fr
– Ikea: www.ikea.com
– Chris Rock: www.chrisrock.com
– ING: www.ing.com
– Rafael Nadal: www.rafaelnadal.com

And the list goes on. As you can see, governments, major institutions and corporations and famous artists use and trust Drupal. This makes it one of the most legitimate and trustworthy CMSs on the market.

By now we already know that Drupal is a very efficient content management system, able to meet personal and corporate needs, a reliable way to empower your presence on the internet. Its modules are highly scalable and provide you with access to the latest web technologies.

But Drupal is much more than a simple and efficient CMS. It is a tool that will boost you ROI rate from the first moment you deploy your website on the internet. Let’s see how this is possible.

First of all, Drupal is easy to configure and does not require dedicated admins to run the website. This means that after the site is created, you or anyone else can manage it without any hassle. With little training, you are in complete control of your website.

At the same time, Drupal has powerful SEO modules that can help you increase your visibility on the internet at a fast pace. The better the visibility, the more visitors you get imp source. Running SEO campaigns for a Drupal sased website is very efficient. And this translates into cash. Drupal is also easy to integrate with social media, so you can communicate easily with your friends and customers via Facebook, Twitter or any other media platform.

Drupal is a mobile friendly CMS. By using it, the development team can create mobile versions of your website in a short time, or design adaptive or responsive sites that can be managed very easily. This means that you don’t need to create separate apps or spend tons of money on mobile design.

Drupal websites are also easy to maintain, and do not require additional development when it is time to update them. Security updates are also easy to implement and very cost effective. Thanks to its large support community, Drupal is constantly evolving and grants you access to new and rick open source features that will make your site shine on the web.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization – is something you really need to take into consideration when designing your site. SEO is now an integrated part of the modern web and helps you gain better visibility on search engines. And this translates into more visitors and better business, whether you operate a corporate business or a private one.

And Drupal is by far the best CMS when it comes to search engine optimization. It gathers lots of CMS tools that grant users the ability to control all elements of their SEO campaign. Drupal’s SEO Tools module offers you an all-in-one suite of search engine reporting, analysis and optimization options.

Here are just a few of the features that the Drupal SEO tools offer: Keyword research, management and extraction, Content optimization, reports, tagging and autolinking, Link management, Cornerstone content and silo management, plus SEO architectural enhancements such as page titles, meta tags, global redirect, XML sitemap, Google Analytics w/ API integration, Google Webmaster Tools and more.

There’s no better way to make your site rank high in search engines than using the Drupal CMS and its rich SEO tools. It’s guaranteed to boost your site’s visibility and attract visitors to empower your business.

Drupal offers a versatile open framework that allows developers quickly code and deploy content based apps for both mobile and desktop interfaces. It is the perfect CMS for going from desktop to mobile experience.

As you already know, Drupal in an open source platform, which comes wrapped in a modular fashion. Drupal is backed by a large number of developers that for a huge support community. The Drupal community is constantly working on improving and developing modules, to offer innovation and flexibility to all users. As a matter of fact, modules are created and updated on a regular basis, to stay on top of the industry trends.

This is why Drupal is able to keep up with the rapidly evolving mobile devices, platforms and networks with ease. As a matter of fact, Drupal is a highly versatile framework for developing native mobile apps, responsive sites, adaptive sites and more.

Here are a few developer advantages of using Drupal as the infrastructure for your mobile projects:
– Abstract content delivery. The content is stored in one location and there’s no need for managing it in different locations. A content type is used for each specific type of content and then associated with unique descriptions. Drupal is able to create nodes that point to the specific content.
– Easy security and access rights management. Application-level services are used to manage users and set their roles and permissions. The site administrator can set them on the fly.
– Easy to customize look and feel. Drupal uses themes to render content, themes based on one or more cascading style sheet (CSS), and one or more PHP-based template. And these are highly customizable.

Thanks to these features, a single Drupal-powered application can manage both a desktop experience, and various mobile experiences running on various devices, browsers and operating systems.